Colombia’s Caicedo on Real Madrid, Liga F and idolising Barcelona stars

Linda Caicedo has had a dream 12 months. The forward starred for Colombia at the U-17 and U-20 World Cups last year, and is now preparing to go to the senior tournament with Las Cafeteras. Caicedo came close to winning the U-17 global crown last October, only for her Colombian side to succumb to Spain in the final in India. Now, as one of the emerging stars in the European club game and a cornerstone of the Real Madrid side, the 18-year-old is looking ahead to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand with the confidence and composure that are her hallmarks. As she gets ready to join up with the Colombia squad, the Madrid star spoke to Claro Sports about her opening months in Spanish soccer.

“I feel like I’ve done well in the short time I’ve been in Spain”

“Adapting to the Spanish game hasn’t been difficult,” Caicedo told the Colombian media outlet. “I feel like I’ve done well in the short time I’ve been in Spain. Moving to the country hasn’t been a major culture shock.” Having joined Madrid from Deportivo Cali in February, the teenager has quickly established herself as an important player for Las Blancas’ head coach, Alberto Toril, who has tended to use her in her favoured position on the left wing. “One difference I have seen between the Colombian and Spanish leagues is that the training regimes are very different. The players’ mentality is very different, too. The thing that has changed the most since I arrived in Spain has been my mentality. And since training is different, my game has evolved, too. Training is ultra professional in Spain.”

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Soccer wasn’t my childhood dream, Caicedo says

Caicedo was already a big fan of Spanish soccer before moving to the Liga F; growing up, she idolised a trio of men’s players who starred for Madrid’s arch rivals. “I’d always follow [former Barcelona forwards] Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Neymar,” she says. “And in women’s soccer, I’d watch Alex Morgan and Marta.” Caicedo’s passion for soccer didn’t come right away as a kid, but her talent for the game quickly became clear when she began playing. During her childhood, though, her professional ambitions pointed in another direction: “If I hadn’t got into soccer, I think I would have studied industrial engineering. I was also interested in becoming a lawyer. But then my soccer career began to progress, and now I reckon I’d like to study something sport-related.”

Her pursuit of a career in the beautiful game had the full support of her parents. “They’ve always got right behind me,” she says. “And when I joined a soccer team, my coaches always said encouraging things to me. They liked how I played, they spurred me on to train harder and harder, and all the support I got gave me the confidence to become a soccer player.” Caicedo added: “I started playing soccer with neighbours, then I joined a boys’ team, Real Juanchito, and everything started to fall into place. I joined América de Cali, and after that, Deportivo Cali. To be honest, being a soccer player isn’t something that I dreamed about from a very early age. It simply happened.”

Colombia prepare for Panama double-header

Colombia head coach Nelson Abadía has named a squad of 25 for the South Americans’ World Cup warm-up friendlies against Panama on 17 and 21 June. Abadía has included as many as eight Spain-based players in the team’s initial summer camp, which will take place from 15 to 30 June in Bogotá, Panama City and Cali. Any players who are still involved in domestic competitions will link up with the squad later, however.

Caicedo and Atlético Madrid’s Leicy Santos will also join up the with the group late, on 19 June, as the pair are still on holiday after playing in the ‘final four’ of Spain’s Copa de la Reina at the end of May. Santos is making her return to the international fold after a year beset by injuries. In addition to Caicedo and Santos, the players called up to Abadía’s squad who ply their trade in Spain are: Daniela Caracas (Espanyol), Ivonne Chacón and Liced Serna (Valencia), Manuela Vanegas (Real Sociedad), Mayra Ramírez (Levante) and Marcela Restrepo (DUX Logroño).